Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Gaudiya Vaishnavism '''(also known as '''Chaitanya Vaishnavism '''or '''Hare Krishna) is a Vaishnava religious movement founded by Sri Chaitanya Mahabrabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gauda region ''(present day Bengal/Bangladesh) with Vaishnavism meaning "the worship of Vishnu Krishna". Its philosophical basis is primarily that of the Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavata Purana. The focus of Gaudiya Vaishnavism is the devotional worship (''bhakti) of Radha and Krishna, and their many divine incarnations as the supreme forms of God, Svayam Bhagavan. Most popularly, this worship takes the form of singing Radha and Krishna's holy names, such as "Hare", "Krishna" and "Rama", most commonly in the form of the Hare Krishna mantra, also known as kirtan. The movement is sometimes referred to as the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya, referring to its traditional origins in the succession of spiritual masters (gurus) believed to originate from Brahma. It classifies itself as a monotheistic tradition, seeing the many forms of Vishnu Krishna as expansions or incarnations of the one Supreme God, adipurusha. Philosophical concepts Living beings According to Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy, consciousness is not a product of matter, but is instead a symptom of the soul. All living beings (jivas), are distinct from their current body - the nature of the soul being eternal, immutable, and indestructible without any particular beginning or end. Souls which are captivated by the illusory nature of the world (Maya) are repeatedly reborn among the various (8,400,000 in number) species of life on this planet and on other worlds in accordance to the laws of karma and individual desire. This is consistent with the concept of samsara ''found throughout Hindu belief. Release from the process of ''samsara (known as moksha) is believed to be achievable through a variety of yoga processes. However, within Gaudiya Vaishnavism it is bhakti ''in its purest state (or "pure love of God") which is given as the ultimate aim, rather than liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Supreme Person (God) Gaudiya Vaishnavas believe that God has many forms and names, but that the name "Krishna" is the 'fullest' description because it means ''"He who is all-attractive", covering all of God's aspects, such as being all-powerful, supremely merciful and all-loving. God is worshiped as the eternal, all-knowing, omnipresent, all-powerful and all-attractive Supreme Person. Names of God from other religious traditions, such as Allah and Jehova, are also accepted as bonafide titles of the same Supreme Person. One of the defining aspects of Gaudiya Vaishnavism is that Krishna is worshiped specifically as the source of all Avataric incarnations of God. This is based on quotations from the Bhagavata Purana, such as "krsnas tu bhagavan svayam", translated as "Krishna is the original Personality of Godhead" and from the Bhagavad Gita where Arjuna, when speaking to Krishna, states: "You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate abode, the purest, the Absolute Truth. You are the eternal, transcendental, original person, the unborn, the greatest. All the great sages such as Narada, Asita, Devala and Vyasa confirm this truth about You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me." Krishna is described elsewhere as the "seed-giving father of all living beings" and is worshiped within the Gaudiya tradition literally, as such - Krishna being the "sustaining energy of the universe". Inconceivable oneness and difference A particularly distinct part of the Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy espoused by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the concept of Achintya Bheda Abheda, which translates to "inconceivable oneness and difference" in the context of the soul's relationship with Krishna, and also Krishna's relationship with his other energies (i.e. the material world). In quality, the soul (jiva) is described as being identical to God, but in terms of quantity individual jivas are said to be infinitesemal in comparison to the ulimited Supreme Being. The exact nature of this relationship (being simultaneously one and different with Krishna) is inconceivable to the human mind, but can be experienced through the process of Bhakti yoga. This philosophy serves as a meeting of two opposing schools of Hindu philosophy, pure monism (God and the soul as one entity) and pure dualism (God and the soul as absolutely separate). In practice Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy has much more in common with the dualistic schools, as Krishna is worshiped as a Supreme person. Devotional activities Bhakti yoga The practical process of devotional life is described as bhakti or bhakti-yoga. The two main elements of the bhakti-yoga process are vaidhi bhakti, which is devotional service through practice of rules and regulations (sadhana) and raganuga bhakti, which is taken as a higher stage of more spontaneous devotional service based on a selfless desire to please one's chosen Ishta-deva of Krishna or his associated expansions and avatars. Practicing vaidhi-bhakti with a view to cultivate prema ''creates eligibility for ''raganuga-sadhana. ''Both ''vaidhi and raganuga bhakti are based on the chanting or singing of Krishna's names. Attainment of the raganuga stage means that rules of lifestyle are no longer important and that emotions or any material activities for Krishna should not be repressed, including sexuality. Vaidhi-bhakti's purpose is to elevate the devotee to raganuga; something which generally takes a long time. Within his Siksastaka prayers, Chaitanya compares the process of bhakti-yoga to that of cleansing a dirty place of dust, wherein our consciousness is the object in need of purification. This purification takes place largely through the chanting and singing of Radha and Krishna's names. Specifically the Hare Krishna mantra is chanted and sung by practitioners on a daily basis, sometimes for many hours each day. Famously within the tradition, one of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's close associates, Haridasa Thakur is reported to have chanted 300,000 holy names of God each day. Diet and lifestyle ﻿ Gaudiya Vaishnavas follow a lacto-vegetarian diet, abstaining from all types of animal flesh, including fish and eggs. Onions and garlic are also avoided as they are believed to promote a more tamasic ''form of consciousness in the eater when taken in large quantities. All types of food are first offered to Krishna, and then the remnants are eaten as ''prasadam. This is based on a number of instructions by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita that: *"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it." (9.26) *"The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin." (3.13) Many Gaudiya Vaishnavas will live for at least some time in their life as monks (brahmacharya). Gaudiya Vaishnava organizations *International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) *Gaudiya Math *International Pure Bhakti Yoga Society See also *108 names of Krishna *Bhagavata Category:Hinduism Category:Vaishnavism